Thur. 12:18 p.m.: YSU pres. Tressel top GOP senate recruit

Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel is being floated as a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

The Washington Examiner reports Tressel is a “top GOP recruit” to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown now that Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel withdrew due to health issues surrounding his wife.

The newspaper reports that according to two Republicans, Tressel has not expressed interest in the Senate seat, but that hasn’t stopped overtures from people inside the party and “hopes from some that he would entertain the idea of a campaign.”

Tressel was named YSU’s ninth president in 2014. He was recently renewed by the university’s board of trustees through June 2019. He earns $300,000 a year.

This is a developing story. For more, read Thursday’s print edition of the Tribune Chronicle or online at www.tribtoday.com.